Improvement in condmsing-engines



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WILLIAMl A. LIGHTHALL, o F NEW YoinK, ,N. Y. Letters Patent 72,054,datecl December 10, 1867 IMPROVEMENT IN eoNnnNsINc-ENGINBS. I

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY OONCERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LIou'rnAnL, .of the city, county, and State of NewYork, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Condensing-Steam Engines for marine purposes; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description oi' the same, 1eferenceheing had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation. I v

Figure 2 is a. plan view. Figure 3 is an ,end view. i The nature of my invention consists in so arranging `the ordinary jet-condenser and air-pumpofa condensing-steam engine with a surface-condenser (in which the condensation .of-the exhauststcam from the vengine is eectcd by contact with the tubes of the same,` and through which tubes a proper supply of coolingwater is passed) as to enable the engine to be worked witlreither the jet or the surface-condenser, at will,and

to allow the change from the one plan ot' condensation to be made to the other without the Vstoppage of the engine to which the apparatus is attached.

In ,the ordinary jet-condenser, theV condensationof the steam is effected by the use of the water inwhich the vessel is Heating. If this water is salt or impure, the feed-water follows -the nature ofthe condensing'- water, and feeds the boilers of the vessel with-salt or impure water, the eiiects o'twhich are too well understood by practical engineers to require comment.

With the surface-condenser the stea'm i s exhaust ed into an apparatus composed of a series of tubcs, `-through which tubes 'the cooling-water (the external water) passes, and around which the steam passesto beV condensed,

The water of condensation, not coming in contact with the water used for condensatoniis returnedbnck to the i boiler'fresh, so that the boiler is preserved from the injurious4 effects of the water fed to it by the use of the jet-condenser, and the engine is made more effective for thetsame amount of fuel used, for the reasomtbat no deposition is'made in the boiler to retard the action ofthe heat of lthe boiler. It may, (and does,) however, occur, that, by reason of a temporary defect in .the-surface-condenser namedgthe ordinary jet-condenser should vbe ready to be lusedin case of such an emergency, without the stoppage of the vessel, until the defect in the surface-condensercan be remediedso that the same can4 again be used. In. such case, I make provisionfor shutting oii` the eonnectionto the surfaeefcondenser, and puttingiuaction the jet-condenser until such defect can be remedied', the salt or impure water fed to the b'oilerfin such case being ordinarily so slightin amount, and the duration of the use lof `the jet-condenser beings'o short,.`that no injurious effects to the 'boiler`result;

nor'does the extra amount of fuel used amount toe. quantity worthy of notice.

In addition to these benefits, my improvement is valuable for the reason that incase the 'surface-condenser should,from any reason, become so permanently disabled that the sarne -c'annot be used, the'n the jetcondenser can be applied so as to operate in connection with the engine in the usual way, using the ordinary blow-off to prevent the boiler from becoming sealed.

A is `the cylinder, B the condenser,- C the bed-plate, D the air-pump, andE the hot-well ofen-ordinary condensing-engine# F is thesurface-condenser, located as shown,'if possible, or in any other properlocation, provided the one shown cannot be used.' G is a pipe to the surfaccfcondcnser, through which lthe exhausted steam passes thereto, the steam being shut oil'v from its natural course to the jet-condenser B bythe closing of the valve H. I is the pipe through which the water of condensation, and the incondensable vapor, are taken into the condenser B, the former toibe taken away by proper force-pumpsto the boiler,a'nd the latter toescape through the air-pump to the atmosphere. J J are pipes througlrwhich cooling-water is taken to and from the condenser F. K and L are valves, which require to be operated as descrbed. The iirst shuts off the connection for .the passage of steam to the condenser F, and the other the flow of condensed water to the condenser B, when the jet-condenser is in use, both to be opened when the valve-H is closed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The arrangement of the ordinaryjet-condenser B, air-pump D, and hot-well E, with the surface-condenser F and the valves H, K, and L, as shown and described, so that the change from the use of the jet-condenser to thntot the surface-condenser e'an'be made at will, and vice versa.

' WM. A. LIGHTHALL.

Witnesses s FnANcIsS. Goss, E. R., VANBURN. 

